Fatal attraction
by Katara-Hatake
Summary: Sakura ,16 year old jounin, found herself attracting the attention of the most famous criminal organization in the ninja world; The Akatsuki. ... rating may change Abandned, discontinued! : Now known as Tainted Blossom!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, But if u think you can do better, then have it your way...**

_ITALICS: 'Thoughts'_

Normal: "Talking"

* * *

They say that "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." It was a phrase passed down through generations which emphasized the strength of many peoples wills and the tolerances they have toward the ignorant. There are many more phrases that one could quote, but the quotes that are more important are those that play on "Murphy's Law".

Murphy's Law, "Anything that cannot happen can and will happen." It is a law that plays on irony, lucky and sometimes can defy even the laws of relativity, the laws of physics and the laws of the super-natural. Unlike the quotes stated in the previous paragraph, Murphy's Law plays heavily on words, especially those of the over-confident, idiotic, and egotistical. Phrases such as "Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth" comes to mind. Or "That will NEVER happen to me" also are few examples.

Today, we shall concentrate on the later phrase "That will **never** happen to me."

A beautiful Cherry haired girl, with mezmerizing Emerald eyes,sat in her room, inside her 2 bedroom apartment, that she shared with her BestFriend, the exact same BestFriend she was waiting for, for about an hour,

She looked around her room, Purple walls with Orange Polka-Dots surrounded her aswell as pictures her BestFriend had taken since they had met, a double bed was put on the left corner of the room, right next to the window and dresser, On the dresser were acessories, gadgets books, photos, etc. It looked like a normal teenage girl's room, But Sakura was far from 'Normal' she was a Ninja, a Jounin just recently.

_'Where is she?' _Sakura thought impatiently, _'If she doesn't get here fast, we're gonna be late for training!' _Just as Sakura finished that thought a gorgeous, curvy, blonde entered the room. She was wearing a red tight tank top with short jean shorts, her hair was put into a ponytail and her baby blue eyes were gleaming with mischeif.

"How are you my Lovely Forehead?" said the blonde cheerfully, as she sat next to her childhood bestfriend.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the Blonde, "You're late" She said flatly.

"Well, You see..-"

"Don't even bother." Sakura interrupted standing up, "Come on, We have to get to the training grounds before Sensei does."

The Blonde rolled her eyes at her Sakura, "Sheesh..You're so uptight Sakura, Losen up a little." she said grinning.

Sakura sighed turning around to face the blonde, "and you're going to get us into trouble, we're already an hour late.", Sakura turned around and turned the door handle, "Come on, Let's go." She said as she headed out the door, The Blonde trailing after her.

* * *

Three figures stood next to each other under the shade of a tree, The first one, had a lean body with Blonde spiky hair and mesmerizing azure eyes, he was wearing an orange shirt with a green Jounin vest on top and brown cargo shorts. His weapon pouch was straped securely to his leg. He also had 3 whisker like marks on his cheeks. Next to him, leaning against a tree, stood a muscular figure slightly taller than the first. He had Black hair shaped like the back-side of a duck and Captivating onyx eyes and he was wearing an outfit similar to the first figure, except his weapon pouch was hanging off his hip and instaed of orange he had a black shirt underneath the jounin lastly, sitting above the second figure, on the branch of the tree, sat a female figure with long wavy brown hair with purple highlights. She had beautiful violet eyes and a curvy figure, her outfit highlighting her figure even more, she was wearing a black tube top that reached her navel, with form fitting shorts that ended just above her knee, with knee length black boots and a green Jounin vest like the other two.

"Where are they?" said the female, her voice laced with annoyance, "Shouldn't they have been here by now?"

"They should, But you know how Ino is don't you? Katara?" answered the Blonde haired male lazily,"Plus, Sensei's always late anyway, so there's no rush."

"I know that!, But..." Katara trailed off, looking at the 2 figures approaching them," Nevermind.."

"Huh?" the Blonde haired male exclaimed looking to where Katara was looking, as soon as he saw the figure his face split into a sly grin, "Well, Look who's there!" He exclaimed waving at the approaching figures.

Katara rolled her eyes, all the while silently looking at her dark haired companian. _'I wonder what's up with you'_

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_**AlN: Review please!xox :D**_

_**I really need to know if I should continue or not...**_

_**and if i should keep Katara in this fic...Tell me plz!xx**_

_**Flames allowed! **_

_**Indesperate need of a Beta!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Training

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, But if u think you can do better, then have it your way...**

_ITALICS: 'Thoughts'_

Normal: "Talking"

* * *

_Katara rolled her eyes, all the while silently looking at her dark haired companian. **'I wonder what's up with you'**_

* * *

Katara hoped of the branch of the tree and moved to stand next to her dark haired companian, who seemed to visibly relax in her presence. She turned to look at him and nodded towards the orange haired male, who was already moving towards the 2 approaching figures.

"Coming?" she asked slowly walking towards them.

"Hn" Was her only reply.

She rolled her eyes, turning to look at the other 3 figures in the clearing. As they got closer Sakura's face lit up into a grin.

"Hey Sasuke! Katara!" she said, waving at Katara and Sasuke.

"Hn" replied Sasuke.

Katara rolled her eyes, "Ignore him" she said,"He's just Pmsing" all the while secretly grinning at the irritated look on his face.

"So, are we all here?" asked Ino, looking around the clearing.

"Nah~ We're still waiting for Kakashi sensei.." replied Naruto.

"He's not here yet?" Sakura asked looking confused.

"Nope!" Katara shook her head.

"Why don't we start without him?" asked Ino, looking slightly iritated.

Katara rolled her eyes,"Because _Ino_," She started, "Kashi-Sensei said that he's got a surprise for us"

"Hn" grunted Sasuke in agreement.

"But that perverts always late!" Grumbled Naruto in protest.

Sakura sighed, "Come on guys, It's just a little longer.." She reasoned, looking at Ino and Naruto pleadingly.

_'Please don't start a fight.'_

**_'You know how they are!' said Inner, 'Why is Ino with us today anyway?'_**

_'Kakshi sensei asked me to bring her' _Sakura answered Inner.

_**'I wonder what he's planning' wondered Inner thoughtfully.**_

Sakura mentally shrugged, _'Don't ask me.'_

-hink we should just start!" Exclaimed Ino angrily, glaring at Katara.

Katara glared back, her eyes flashing red momentarilly, this action missed by everyone except Sakura.

'_Damn!' _Sakura thought frantically, _'If this continue's Katara might actually hurt Ino!'_

"Guys!" Sakura shouted, moving in between Katara and Ino, "Stop it!"

Katara and Ino stopped their bantering to Glare at Sakura.

Sakura moved to stand behind Naruto, "Or not..." she said weakly.

Naruto looked at Sakura worringly,"You okay Sakura-Chan?" he asked.

Sakura looked up at Naruto, her eyes Softening", and smiled., "I'm fine Naruto. Just getting a head-ache from all this bantering." she replied.

Naruto's eyes softened, he turned to look at the two arguing females.

"GUYS!" He shouted, "Stop it! Your giving Sakura-Chan a head-ache!"

Katara and Ino turned to look at him murderously.

"Why y-!" Ino was interrupted by a puff of smoke that appeared next to Sasuke.

"Yo!" came the greating from the smoke.

As the smoke cleared you could see three figures standing next to each other, The first one had brown eyes, short, black spiky hair and beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore the **Twelve Guardian Ninja** sash that had the kanji for "Fire" (火) marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles and bandages wrapped around the arms of his sleeves. The figure next to him was wearing the standard Konoha shinobi outfit along with iron plated gloves and a black T-shirt with white stripes in the middle of the sleeves. He had gravity defying grey hair with a mask that covered half his face and a forehead protector over his left eye, he had dull grey eyes and was well built. and Lastly was a boy shorter than the other two, with a lazy expression on his face and fiarly long jet black hair tied into a ponytail and narrow brown eyes, wearing a flak jacket, along with a black long sleeved shirt paired with matching pants and sandals, and green lined mesh armour on his wrists and ankles.

"Shika? Asuma-san?" Questioned Katara, "What are you two doing here?"

Asuma turned to look at her and said...

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**I'm sure some of you r probably thinking the Chapters are too small..but donot fret! They will get longer as the story progresses, It's just I've been feeling the signs of my writer's block comming back and...I really hope it passes!xx DX**

_**AlN: Review please!xox :D**_

_**I really need to know if I should continue or not...**_

_**and if i should keep Katara in this fic...Tell me plz!xx**_

_**Flames allowed! **_


	3. Chapter 3: Training part 2

**Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto. Just the plot and My own Characters~**

_If anyone an do better than go ahead!xx_

**_Secial Thanks to My awesome new Beta Terra~ She helped alot with this Chapter~!xx Thanx alot! Luff ya~_**

_Also I would Like to Thank annonymous reviewer **asdf** for their review, and I will consider your warning!_

**~Meet u at the bottom~**

* * *

_Asuma turned to look at her and said..._

* * *

Asuma turned to look at her, an unreadable look on his face. He said slowly, as if speaking to five year olds, "We're here...to help you train..."

The addressed group stood in random order, silence dripping across the area. Soon enough, confused expressions began blooming on their faces, some more...exaggerated than others.

"WHAT?" a majority of them exclaimed, all except for Sasuke, who stood there twitching erratically, and Shikamaru. The combined boom of voices had Asuma wince slightly.

"...Troublesome..." Shikamaru breathed out, a puff of a lazy sigh escaping his chest.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in amusement, showing he was also smiling underneath his dark mask. He gestured slightly. "Well, we-"

"What a drag."

"-Decided it would be great to try something new~," Kakashi sang, clapping his gloved hands together in a poor attempt to brighten the atmosphere. His lone onyx eye glinted in mischief as he scanned the many young adults before him.

Sasuke was glaring at him openly, most likely promising the older man's death through a painful means. _'Nothing different there,'_ Kakashi thought, sweat dropping at how predictable the dark boy was.

His gaze switched over to an irritated Sakura, who seemed to be the only one thinking about the current situation... Or maybe she was thinking of ways to injure Katara and Ino as the two bantered like children. '_Meh, no difference there either...' _Kakashi shrugged that off.

Speaking of which, Katara and Ino were glaring at each other, sparks flickering like an impending storm. The two had gone from screaming at each other about trivial things to having a glare-fest in tense silence.

All the while, Naruto, who looked extremely pleased -and _loudly_ voicing his happiness- with this new form of training, tried to work things out between them. He switched between assuring the two girls and pointing out reasons why they shouldn't fight - occasionally throwing in an insult he didn't know was an insult. These futile attempts resulted in him getting hit over the head by Ino, and Katara shouting at Ino for hitting Naruto.

Kakashi sighed_. 'Alright, I change my mind. This might have been a bad idea after all'. _ He looked over at Asuma and Shikamaru, who seemed to be watching Katara and Ino's banter with mild amusement and plenty annoyance at the volume.

The Copy-Nin sighed again; he seemed to be doing that a lot today. He swiftly turned to talk to them, when a messenger bird appeared and sat on Katara's shoulder. The girl brought her side of the pointless argument to a halt.

"What in the-!" Katara exclaimed in surprise, as she looked at the messenger bird perched onto her shoulder, her eyes shining with curiosity. She removed the scroll from its neck and unraveled it, the end of it flying off into the horizon. **(A/N: Always wanted to use that line~ :P - Lol I like that line, too XD)**

**"**So?" asked Ino impatiently, angered by the disruption. "What does it say?"

Katara, ignoring the looks Ino shot at her, turned to Kakashi. As soon as he met her eyes, she said, "I won't be able to train with all of you today." She nodded to the scroll. "It seems like Tsunade-san has a mission for me."

Naruto perked up at this. "Wait, Katara-chan! Is it just you?" he asked, looking at Katara expectantly.

Katara's eyes softened at this, recognizing his need. _'He really wanted to go on a mission didn't he?'_

"I'm sorry Naruto, It's just me.." she trailed of after seeing the slightly disappointed look on his face. But he immediately brightened up, and his beautiful azure eyes shined in excitement and a hint of concern.

"It's alright! Just make sure your back by the time Baa-chan gives us a team mission okay?" he lightly intoned. Despite his joking, light-hearted voice, he was serious.

Katara smiled, picking up the hint. "Of course, Naruto." She turned around to look at everyone else. "I'll be going now. Good luck on your new training regime, and don't die. Ja ne!" As she spoke, she began disappearing in a pillar of rose petals. By the end of her sentence, she was gone.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is troublesome. We needed her for the training you had planned, Kakashi," he drawled out lazily, all the while looking at the fallen rose petals with a calculating look on his face. _'Hmm..I wonder if the mission's a solo mission'... _He puffed out another sigh. _'Return home safe, Katara'_

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well, I wasn't expecting her to get a mission, and you're right about the training we had planned." He let his hand fall back to his side, looking slightly wary. '_Why would Hokage-sama send Katara on a mission when it's her off day?'_

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's question broke him out of his thoughts. She was looking at him, concern changing her bright emerald eyes to a cloudy jade.

"Hm?"

"You spaced out for a little bit," she explained. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"Don't worry. It was nothing," he reassured her. Sakura stood there, her hesitant stance showing disbelief. "Nothing at all."

* * *

_**A/N : Alright!xx Done!xx I put Katara on a Mission so Sakura could have more screen time kk?**_

_**Tell me if u still want her or not, then the course of the mission will be decided~!xx**_

_**P.s- To eveyone who Faved/Alerted: I would appreaciate it if u would review too, I am thankful for the Favs/alerts, but I would prefer if u reviewed too~ Thanx~**_

_Flames Allowed~_


	4. Chapter 4: Training part 3

**Disclaimer: I donot own Naruto, Just my Own Characters and the plot.x (This Chap Dedicated 2 Terra~)**

**Anyway... I wannaapologize to the reders on ho long it took 2 update this Chapterx Sorry~!x T-T .**

_**And I'd like to give special Thaks To my AMAZINGLY AWESOME Beta: TERRAAA~!xxx Thanks 4 your help Gurl~!xx :DD**_

_**(Also If ur reading this PLEASE review!x)**_

_**~Meet you down belooooww~ :D**_

* * *

_**"You spaced out for a little bit,"** she explained. Kakashi smiled under his mask._

_**"Don't worry. It was nothing,"** he reassured her. Sakura stood there, her hesitant stance showing disbelief. **"Nothing at all."**_

* * *

~**Akatsuki Base~**

Nine figures sat, circling a table. An ominous atmosphere began flooding the immediate area as tension rose far beneath the ground where these figures were located. In the midst of all that is tainted and evil, the man with the most authority's eyes began to glint in the low-light, the silver-grey rings of animosity bringing about promises of his namesake: 'pain'.

"Silence," that same man commanded in an eerily smooth voice, his tone calm but foreboding. Any signs of sound immediately hushed at the demand and eyes locked onto their figurehead, who seemed to be consumed in the shadows. "Let us begin, shall we?" It didn't sound at all like a question; more like a command.

The occupants caught onto the implication and straightened themselves for the meeting.

"I have called all of you here," their pierced Leader began, "to discuss our medical resources, or lack thereof. Our previous medic experienced a rather...unfortunate accident." His endless ringed eyes stared pointedly at one of the shadowed figures.

The silver-headed male that was on the receiving end of the look just grinned at this, heads slowly turning to meet the vibrant magenta eyes shining in mischief. His partner, who matched the eye-colored vibrancy but instead in green, just shook his head in disappointment.

"What, you heathens?" he asked in a rough tone, grinning like a mad-man. "That little fucker was asking for it!"

The leader narrowed his eyes even more, nearly to the point of closure. He held the sigh of utter disappointment and opted for setting a frown on his face. "You didn't have to kill him," he chastised, annoyance seeping into his calm voice. "He was the only thing closest to a medic. Killing him just because he accidentally stabbed your eye in the middle of your check-up does not mean it was necessary to sacrifice him to your Jashin."

"Jashin is the fucking epitome of God," the dirty-mouthed speaker stated matter of factly. "He fucking needed the damn fresh blood. Sometimes, a fucking rabbit isn't enough to satisfy the hunger." The orange-haired man resisted the urge to slap his head and focused on the matter at hand.

"Anyways, onto more pressing matters. Since the unfortunate loss of our old Medic, we will be needing a new one. Therefore, I am going to be sending four of you to meet and...'persuade' our new Medic. The rest of you will be back-up, if needed." His voice grew even more serious and his men knew not to do anything stupid at the moment. "I should hope you will not need this back-up, understood?" he continued in his eerily indifferent voice, his silver-eyes coming to rest on a certain potty-mouthed man.

The same man, who was previously scolded, just continued to lock eyes with his hostile leader, completely unaffected. His partner shot him looks, telling him to 'shut up', of which the other pointedly ignored.

Our carrot-headed leader on the outside, although calm, was thinking up ways of torture for this dirty-worded man. Those calming thoughts were thrown into the back of his mind, as he knew that the man he wished so dearly would just shut the hell up would enjoy the torment. He was just that sick and twisted. Sigh...

"...Very well. The team of four will include, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Deidera," narrowing his eyes at the two last men he had mentioned when they were about to protest, "and the medic I have chosen is..."

* * *

******~In Konoha: Training grounds 7~**

"Alright! Listen up!" Kakashi hollered out, his lone eye examining the loud the group of young adults.

Heads turned to look at the speaker. Sasuke was still glaring. His mood seemed to worsen with Katara's much needed disappearance. Naruto, who was still excited about training, stopped verbally expressing his -loud- excitement and just managed to convey his happiness through beaming at his sensei. Sakura stopped conversing with Ino and turned to look at her sensei with a curious look on her elven face. Ino just looked irritated at being interrupted again. And Shikamaru and Asuma looked like they were used to all this, opting for sitting hunched over and having a 'this is so troublesome' look on their faces..

_'Great. The only people I could have used to help me don't even look like they care,' _thought Kakashi, a gloomy tone lingering in his mind.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura, breaking him from his thoughts. The pinkette's eyes looked at him, awaiting further instruction.

Kakashi smiled at her, eyes crinkling, and said, "I'm glad to know someone's interested in what I have to say." Sakura blinked. After a couple of seconds, Naruto spontaneously burst out laughing.

"Hahah-You- ahahaha-Thought (pant) that-ahahahah-she-hahaha-mphhihdfjsh-" He was interrupted by Sakura quickly placing her hand over his mouth, a vein throbbing on her forehead as she tried to maintain an 'I don't know' look..

Kakashi looked at his only female student suspiciously. Sakura smiled stiffly, trying to cover Naruto's slip-up, "Don't worry about him sensei!" she chirruped, half sounding strained. "Just continue with what you were going to say."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, a glint of questioning sent to Sakura. The girl pretended not to notice, her stiff smile turning to a twitch. He continued questioning, then abruptly bloomed into an eye-crinkling smile, causing Shikamaru and Asuma to sweatdrop at the quick mood change. '_Like a PMSing girl..._'

"Alright! Like I was saying, since Katara isn't here, Ino you're dismissed. Asuma, you can either stay to watch or go do whatever you do." explained Kakashi, smile intact. He waved his hand dismissively in front of his face.

Ino, meanwhile, was fuming at the older man. _'How dare he ask for me to come and then waste my precious time!'_

"Why you son of a b-mmmf!" Ino was interrupted by Asuma's hand clamping down onto her mouth. He shook his head at her in a silent warning and the blonde glared. Her sensei slowly let go, trusting her not to continue with her sentence.

"Humph!" the blonde beauty harrumphed, arms crossed and lips turned into a pout.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru repeated for the umpteenth time, a sigh escaping his lungs at his teammate's antics.

"Kakashi, Ino and I will take out leave," Asuma informed the addressed man, looking pointedly at Ino when she looked like she was about to protest. She popped her mouth close and scowled, begrudgingly moving to her sensei's side.

"Goodbye." The smoking-prone man nodded to Kakashi and then turned away.

As he and Ino left, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at Kakashi for further instructions after the sudden dismissing. Some eyebrows were raised. And Sasuke continued to glare.

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck under the pressure of the gazes - and silent death threats - and said, "Well, you see, I actually had everything planned-"

"Yeah right!"

"Troublesome."

"Hn."

"-and it involved the use of Katara's skills," he continued, ignoring the expected interruptions. "So I'm going to have to improvise." He closed his eyes, waiting for Naruto to burst.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked, anger seeping into his tone. Kakashi was being to calm about Katara's leaving, especially since her mission could be so dangerous and...somewhat suspicious.

"Trouble-"

"Finish that word, and my fist will be lodged into your windpipe," interrupted Sakura, glaring heatedly at Shikamaru.

Annoyance was evident on her face and her knuckles crackled at the intensity she was forcing upon her fisted hands. Shikamru just sighed for what felt like about the thousandth time that day, remaining silent. He knew that if he finished his favorite phrase, his windpipe would come out the other end of his ass. The girl was already pooling chakra into her fist. The look on her irritated face promised pain. God. Girls were so emotional.

"Ahem!" coughed Kakashi none too obviously, catching everyone's attention. "As I was saying," he continued. "We're going to have one-on-one matches until I can think of something better for you all to do."

Naruto looked slightly deflated, albeit disappointed, at the lack of originality and freshness at the idea, but soon, his face lit up into a grin.

"Hey! Kakashi-sensei?" he called excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His giant grin paired with the mischievous glint in his eyes made Kakashi slightly uneasy, yet the man covered his ill ease. Instead, Kakashi looked at his loudest student blankly.

"Yes?" he asked in a lazy drawl that had been absent up until now.

"Can we have a two-on-two match instead?" he asked, getting even more hyped up by the minute.

Two on two matches meant that he had a better chance if he got paired up with any one of the other three. Because let's face it. Naruto against a hell-bent guy with a Sharingan, an insanely smart genius who could come up with strategies faster than you can say 'Troublesome', and a temperamental she-beast with a killer left hook? A snowball has a better chance in hell.

Kakashi looked at him blandly, and then his face crinkled up into a smile, hidden by the mask, of course. "No," he flatly rejected, and Naruto instantly deflated once more.

"Why not?" he asked angrily, a frown marring his handsome features.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei? Why not?" agreed Sakura looking at him pleadingly. Heck, the thought seemed pretty good. If she was paired with Sasuke, she had the advantage of the Sharingan. If she had Shikamaru, she had the art of surprise plus another mind to work with. And if she had Naruto, she had brute force and his unlimited amount of shadow clones. It was a win-win-win situation.

Alone, she'd get suffocated by the force of competition. These guys, even though they would never hit a girl as it was against they morals, weren't afraid of hitting her during a match. Kakashi looked at his two pouting students, face indifferent, and then finally sighed and gave in.

"Alright then," he agreed slowly. "It's Naruto and Sakura versus Sasuke and Shikamaru."

"Hn." grunted Sasuke. _'Why did I get this guy?'_ he wondered sulkily, ego too large to admit that he needed the extra brain. Then again, if _he_ were stuck with Naruto, he'd be up against a mega-mind team consisting of Shikamaru and Sakura. They'd beat them in a breath. But his pride was much to inflated to admit anything so he continued to sulk.

"Alright!" cheered Naruto, throwing his arms over Sakura's shoulders.

"Me and Sakura-chan are gonna kick your asses all the way to Suna, teme!" Sakura giggled while Shikamaru just shook his head, muttering, "What a drag."

"Great!~" Kakashi sang, clapping his hands once. "Now that you know what to do...BEGIN!" **  
**Naruto grinned largely and smacked his fist into his palm. As he prepared to create some clones, Sakura grabbed his collar and lugged him into the foliage. The blonde man let out a strangled noise before getting shushed, back smashing into a tree.

His azure eyes locked with emeralds as she put a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. She put her hands flat against the pile of leaves underneath them and concentrated chakra into the greenery. The pinkette expertly knitted a web of chakra and before Naruto could question her motives, she yanked the bed of leaves over them.

"I saw them leap through here," Sasuke voiced above them, a branch shaking as he set foot on it. There was an irritated edge to his tone.

"They're probably headed in the direction they jumped into the trees. West. But maybe they're trying to throw us off track. One or both of them could've turned and gone south. Maybe southwest." That was Shikamaru. The lazy sound in his voice dissipated and instead, his calculating nature took over.

"Your plan?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I'll head south and curve southwest. You go west and do the same. We'll meet up in a few miles," he explained. "The thing with them is that they're both dependent on brute force. Speed is behind them. We can catch them this way."

Sasuke nodded and turned on his heel, leaping into the greenery like lightening. Shikamaru did the same and dashed away.

"Ugh, how rude!" Naruto whispered, completely angry at being looked down upon as Sakura began to remove their blanket of leaves. She pulled the chakra back and the leaves fell limply around them. The pinkette sat up on the balls of her feet.

"Well, you're never supposed to underestimate your opponent," Sakura whispered, a brief smile on her face. "But I admit, he managed to figure out my plan."

"You had a plan?" Naruto asked as he stood up.

"Yeah, I'll explain it while we go." She gestured behind her and he picked up on her implication. He nodded and jumped up onto a thick branch before breaking into a run, Sakura close matched his pace and soon, began to talk.

"I was thinking of cornering them and taking them out with force," Sakura started, half of her mind tracking Shikamaru's and Sasuke's movements. "But that's out of the conversation. So we're gonna have to play stealth."

"But you know me, Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested. "Stealth isn't exactly my forte."

"...You're a ninja. Stealth is the main idea," Sakura said slowly. She rolled her eyes as Naruto thought about that. "Anyways, I have another plan."

Naruto grinned as they neared a destination far from the other two. "Hit me."

* * *

Sasuke hit the intended mark, not finding the blonde or any signs of pink. So as planned, the Uchiha swerved in his step and began picking up pace closer to the south-west direction. His hopes were high, betting on Shikamaru finding them. If the bright but lazy male was in sync with himself, then he'd know to drive the 'Dynamic Duo' to meet with Sasuke. That way, it'd be like a game of mouse-trap.  
The dark-haired princely figure continued brushing past the billions of greenery, intent on finding his partner.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke, focused on his footing, looked up and redirected his attention. Shikamaru appeared in the distance over a small clearing, and as if they were reading eachother's minds, the two landed in the center of the clearing without fault.

"Did you find anything?" the pineapple-headed genius asked.

"No," Sasuke replied, tone suggesting irritation, "not a thing." He brushed a pale hand through his raven-tinted spikes. "I'm guessing you didn't either?"

"Yeah," the other replied with a sigh. "What a drag..."

"Don't fall asleep on me, Nara," Sasuke reprimanded, smirking. Shikamaru sent him a dreary grin.

"New plan. Maybe they went in the other direction?"

"It can't be. They couldn't have jumped in this direction and automatically turned. There would have been some noise."

"Hm...then maybe...they hid?"

Sasuke paused, pondering that thought. When he and Shikamaru had come up with separating and meeting back up, he'd sensed a sensation akin to chakra below him. But he figured it were the plants - all living things had chakra. Human bodies were just stronger, and for ninja, much stronger. Since what he'd picked up was so small, he hadn't thought about it.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about it because it had disappeared.

"Crap," Sasuke muttered, "I know where they are."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, then fumbled to catch up with the sprinting Uchiha.

* * *

"God dammit!" Sasuke cursed, throwing the pile of leaves he believed Sakura and Naruto had been located. His eyes narrowed in vast irritation and anger. How could they have slipped from his grasp so easily?

Shikamaru calmly picked up one of the leaves Sasuke had thrown, sniffing it lightly. It didn't smell any different. So the Nara let his chakra pour into the leaf. Besides Sasuke's and his chakras, two other signatures faintly left a trail. Two he knew quite well.

"They can't be far," Shikamaru mumbled out.

"They could be miles from here!" Sasuke burst out, aggravated. "They made a diversion! They knew we would overlook this! That was long ago; they fucking _knew_, Shikamaru!"

The man in question narrowed his eyes. "I will not tolerate such feminine behavior," he warned, referring to Sasuke's PMSing like state. "Either we handle this situation logically and plan out our next move so this doesn't happen again, or we lose. Simple as that."

He got off of his knees and wiped his hands together, ridding them of dirt.

"I can sense Naruto's chakra trail a bit. Him having an unnaturally large amount of chakra has its perks." He turned to Sasuke briefly.

"And why are your emotions running so rampant? Usually, you're much more controlled over your emotions. Care to share the sudden change?"

Sasuke breathed through his nostrils, visibly calming down and ignoring the second half of what Shikamaru had said. In an attempt to further sooth his nerves, he stood for a few seconds, collecting his composure. His eyes re-opened and he stared pointedly at Shikamaru, one of the few to ever meet his eyes directly and not at all flinch away. For whatever reason, the bored glint in Shikamaru's eyes reminded him of why this should be an easy win. So Sasuke nodded in a direction.

"None of your business," he snorted. "Anyways," he began, "lead the way."

Shikamaru grinned at his then removed his hands from his pockets, a habit he picked up from his father to remain patient. With ease, he bent his knees, then took a leap, Sasuke following closely behind.

His eyes, which gleamed as he read the very light trail, darted from side to side, trying to pick up a pattern to predict their general location. Meanwhile, Sasuke had his mind in the midst of whirring, strategies coming together for when they confront the 'losing' side.

"Got a pattern," Shikamaru announced. "Looks like they're headed...deeper into the forests... Closer to the lake." His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I wonder why?"

"Let's not question it," Sasuke suggested. "We just need to find them and tie them up to bring to Kakashi."

Shikamaru made a sound of agreement somewhere in his chest. "So do you have a plan?"

"I..." Sasuke started, "was thinking we could sneak up on them. If you can, you could try to reach out and possess Naruto's shadow. Between the two of them, Naruto is the stronger one. He has the Kyuubi, too. I'll handle Sakura with some help from the Sharingan. I'll knock her out in an illusion and you could trick Naruto into hitting his head or something. At that point, we can tie them up."

Shikamaru hummed in consideration. "...Good point," he began. "There are a few flaws..."

Sasuke scoffed.

"Sasuke, Sakura isn't that weak. Her strongest point since the academy has been, and always will be genjutsu. She won't easily fall for an illusion, and even if she does, she has the skill to detect a change in atmosphere. She'll dispel it before we could even bind her."

Sasuke brought this into thought.

"And Naruto," Shikamaru started again. "His chakra can probably overpower my jutsu if he ends up doing that to force himself out of the lock. My jutsu and your Sharingan take up a large portion of chakra. If they break out of either of them, we're left with halved chakra sources and no escape."

Sasuke growled, irritated at the major flaws. "So what then, Point Dexter?"

"Who knows?" Shikamaru replied neutrally. "We could try it. In the case they do break it, we need a plan B."

"And that would be?"

"Force," Shikamaru evenly said. "You're quick, therefore use your speed to overpower Sakura. I'll conjure up a plan to take down Naruto."

"Let's switch opponents," Sasuke suggested, hopping up a level to jump alongside Shikamaru. He glanced at the genius from the corner of his eye. "Sakura won't take that long to knock out. It's not anything you can't handle. I'll take on Naruto, since my Sharingan can match his chakra reserves."

"Again, Sakura isn't weak," Shikamaru pointed out. "Besides, she's as smart as me. Don't you think she might even _out_-smart me?"

"Even if she does, you're probably quick enough to think of another solution."

"And when I do, her brute strength will be enough to wipe me out. I'm not as quick as you. I won't be able to get out of that earthquake."

"Then I'll try to finish my fight quickly to help you out. But I highly doubt she'll be that much trouble."

Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly, annoyed by Sasuke's inability to take in the fact that their opponents, no matter how irritating or seemingly weak they are, were not the same people as they were back then. Underestimating them would be their downfall.

"Whatever. What do you plan to do with Naruto?"

"Hopefully use an illusion to knock him out long enough to bind him. Otherwise it's down to fire."

"That's all?"

Sasuke sent him a look. "For now."

"Mm..."

"How far away are they?" Sasuke asked aloud.

"They're up ahead. Hide," Shikamaru replied. He and Sasuke nodded to each other then separated, chests meeting the grassy beneath. They both moved away from each other in a crawl, backs straight and low. Slowly, they arrived where Sakura and Naruto were, both perched on the river bank.

Speaking of the two...

Up in the opposite trees, the 'Dynamic Duo' sat, snickering to each other.

"I told you they would overthink it. Now look at them," Sakura whispered, staring evilly at the sweating Sasuke and slightly nervous Shikamaru.

"You're so smart, Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied, winking to his partner.

"Aren't I?" The pinkette smirked a bit, then brushed her fingers through her hair. "So I have a theory..."

"On what?"

"On their plan."

Naruto stopped scratching at the bark of the tree they were sitting on and paid attention to his teammate. "Shoot."

"I'm thinking that Sasuke's gonna be using his Sharingan. By the way he's moving towards 'you', he'll try to use it against you. He is, afterall, a predictable brother-blood-thirsty guy."

Naruto snickered at the title.

"And Shikamaru's gonna try to use his family jutsu against me or something. Or try to outsmart me."

"Well, let's see how that'll work out for them!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning brightly. Sakura smacked him to shut him up.

"Get ready..."

**POOF!**

"DAMMIT!"

Sasuke's curse rang out loud, as the two had tried to sneak attack 'Naruto and Sakura'.

"Where are they?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't fricking know," Sasuke ground out, looking around rigorously.

Naruto took that as his cue, and with the symbols leading to an army of Shadow Clones, he saluted to Sakura. "Let's go!" Sakura smirked and counted to ten after Naruto had gone, and jumped off of the tree after him. In the course of the fall, Naruto had clones popping up with him, and the pinkette had chakra gathering to her fists.

Before either of the dark-haired boys could do anything, an army of Naruto-people barraged down on them, the real Naruto standing where Sakura would land.

As the two tried to fend off clones, exactly ten seconds later, a flash of pink appeared in front of the frozen Naruto.  
Shikamaru and Sasuke realized that too late.

By the time the pineapple headed-genius was yelling to Sasuke to abandon ship, Sakura's fist was driving into the earth. Fissures erupted from around them and for a moment, everything was airbourne. Sasuke and Shikamaru felt their feet leave the ground for a split second before gravity painfully pulled them back down.

**POOF!**

"Shikamaru?" Sasuke yelled out.

"Over here!"

The smoke from the disappearing clones swirled around them as they found eachother, the white clouds turning grey.

"Sakura must've cast some smoke bombs," Shikamaru concluded, wary. "I told you she'd be able to outsmart us!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snarled out. "We can't focus on that. Let's just think about how we'll be able to find them!"

"Wait, this smoke is a little abnormal..." Shikamaru stopped Sasuke from moving where he believed their opponents were standing.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not letting up. At all..."

Sasuke stood, alarmed.

Before Shikamaru could warn his partner, the genius felt a painful sensation bloom in his right cheek. His name was being called out by Sasuke, but it soon disappeared; he assumed he was in battle. He landed none too gracefully, his back scratching against the harsh blades of grass.

Shikamaru groaned and he slowly sat up to see that several meters in front of him had been cleared. The view he had revealed the river the fake Naruto and Sakura had been watching. He rubbed his bruised cheek, feeling it swelling. Then, his opponent hit him, literally and figuratively.

He was knocked back down. Shikamaru clenched eyes pried open slightly.

Standing on the river like a skilled kunoichi, Sakura stood, her knuckles slightly bloody from hitting the ground, her entire frame wet from the river, and a feral smirk on her face. Shikamaru groaned. Why did he have to handle the demented one?

He got back onto his feet slowly, theories and strategies and plans whizzing through his brain.

As soon as he reached his full height, his fingers performed a blur of signs, and like lightening, his shadow reached towards Sakura at top speed.

He was surprised to find the river now empty. Confused, he retreated his shadow and began to look around, searching for the seemingly disappeared signature.

A hand broke out of the dirt in front of him and out materialized Sakura, who did nothing but smile at his frozen form, her thin fingers curling around his ankle and sending chakra throughout his body before his hands could join in a sign. She slowly hauled herself out of the earth, not letting go of his ankle.

"Surprised?"

"Impressed," Shikamaru corrected.

"Really?"

"Yes," he replied as the chakra constricted movement all over his body now. "I figured you were smarter than what anyone would originally assume, but not this smart. I didn't estimate your amount of knowledge accurately."

"Shikamaru, I was top student on theory in the academy," Sakura retorted, now fully out of the ground, but still crouched in front of him. "I'm a paper ninja. Theoretical strategies and assumptions are my forte."

"I figure that now."

Sakura let out a short laugh.

"Now, why didn't you use a genjutsu to knock me out, now? Or tie me? Or even just hit me with that strength of yours?" Shikamaru asked, slightly puzzled by her lack of rush after catching her enemy.

"Because you're smart enough to dispel that. And you can break out of simple rope - shut up, chakra string is to taxing on my reserves. And that's too easy," she replied evenly, a smile blooming on her face. "We should have some fun first."

"What are y-"

Before he could speak, Sakura had dived back into the earth, her hand still on his ankle. She pulled him with her. As if they were in a pool, she began swimming throughout the ground, firmly keeping a hold on a shocked Shikamaru.

She brought them directly beneath the river where water began forming, then pulled them up into the river. She swam up and yanked him over.

He immediately began to cough, removing water from his lungs. "I didn't know it was that deep!" he yelled out.

Sakura smirked. Then she let go of him and dived below the water's surface, disappearing away from him. Shikamaru gained feeling almost immediately and he tried to lash a punch underwater. It hit nothing but liquid. He gasped out, splashing around and looking for Sakura's signature.

What the...?

Where was the river bank? The shoreline? _Land_?

"Sakura?"

Laughter.

Laughter ran like a siren around him.

...

His eyes widened.

'_Like a freaking literal siren!_'

It was then he realized he was in a genjutsu.

And it took a little while longer to realize that Sakura had drained him of chakra to keep him from dispelling the jutsu.

...

Well, shit.

* * *

"Shikamaru!" Sasuke yelled out as his partner began flying sideways, a pinkette following him. He realized what was coming next a fraction of a second too late. Naruto's shadow clones began to pile around him.

"Dammit!" He let a ring of fire swallow up the clones. But no matter how many flames he would release, another dozen waves of Naruto clones replace them. The real Naruto wasn't among them.

The only thing that kept Sasuke going was Shikamaru over on the river, sitting on top of the water but slumped over. And what urged Sasuke to hurry was a smirking kunoichi approaching Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru!"

"You can't get to him, teme," everyone of the Naruto clones said, grinning faces obstructing his view of his teammate. "I won't let you."

"You Dobe!" Sasuke gritted out, pausing in using his chakra and instead punching and kicking out any of them that tried to get in his way.

But of course, this was his downfall.

He failed to cover his back. So when the bottom of a hard sandal met his neck, the last thing he saw was a giant cloud of smoke.

* * *

**__**"It's finished," Naruto announced with a salute, bounding over to an accomplished looking Sakura. She was smiling, wiping her hands of dirt, a tied up and gagged and drained Shikamaru being dragged by the rope. Sasuke was in a similar state, slung over Naruto's shoulder.

"What'd you do to him?" Sakura asked as she flipped Shikamaru so he was sitting piggy-back style, his head falling onto her shoulder. Naruto turned, kicked up some dirt, and began leaping into the trees, Sakura close by.

"Overwhelmed him with some clones. I figured he'd get frustrated and lash out so I just hit him in the neck," he replied with a triumphant grin. "Bastard never saw it coming! This is what he gets for underestimating me!"

Sakura laughed. "I bet he deserved it."

"Hell yes, he does!" Naruto shot her a foxy look. "And genius over there?"

"When I punched him, I dropped into the ground. And when I reached him, I did what I practiced on you; drained his chakra."

"What was his reaction when he found out?" Naruto asked, feet thumping on the thick branches.

"A die-laughing worthy moment," she replied, snickering to herself. "Anyways, we went swimming for a bit, and while he was underwater, I cast a genjutsu on him. Because he's drained of chakra, he couldn't break out of it."

"Smart."

"Isn't it?"

"Heh, so now what?"

Sakura laughed. "Now, it's time to bring them to Kakashi and rub it in their faces when they come to."

"Alright!"

Naruto's grin widened as he felt Kakashi's chakra signature come within range.

"I found him! Let's go!"

* * *

**_-A few minutes later- _**

"Sensei!"

Kakashi, who had been busy reading his little, special orange book at a nearby creek, looked up, surprised to hear Sakura. He'd placed his bet on Shikamaru and Sasuke with some difficulty simply because they were the superior team between the two. Shikamaru's brains combined with Sasuke's ninjutsu and Sharingan was an undefeatable duo.

Sakura and Naruto were a level or two below them to him. and yet?

"Sakura, Naruto," he said, hiding his surprise -and his book- as the two reached him. He visibly winced when the grinning pair dropped the bodies they'd been hauling with a heavy thump.

"What's our prize?" Naruto excitedly asked, jumping up and down.

"Calm down," Sakura whispered, elbowing him in the ribs. He flew back a few meters into a tree, but absentmindedly shot back up as if it was nothing.

Kakashi winced again, rubbing his ribs slightly. "You'll find out your prize when they come to."

The duo paused, staring at their sensei. With a final stare, the two shrugged and turned, walking away from their sensei.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Going to get ramen. Tell us when they're awake," Sakura replied over her shoulder, waving halfheartedly. They disappeared from view. Kakashi stood alone, two prodigy bodies at his feet.

"...Since when were they so..." Quietly, he pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise, looking for a page. "Let's see...'nonchalant'..." He looked up, stroking his chin.

"Since when were they so nonchalant?" Kakashi looked back down to his book. "I proved Kurenai wrong. Icha Icha is actually educational!" With a cheerful blink, the older man sat himself upon a log and continued reading.

"Nnghh..." Sasuke groaned from the ground. "Wha-...!"

Kakashi kicked at Sasuke's temple. "Shhh, this is the best part!" he whispered excitedly, not at all conscious of the fact that he knocked out his student.

* * *

_**A/N: Thank You for Reading! Please Review! Feedback appreciated~!x Thank you again Terra For ur Contribution and help in this storyx especially the fight scene~!x This is 'Dedicated' 2 You~!xx 3**_

_**REVIEW~**_

_FLAMES WELCOME~!x_


	5. Chapter 5: Ramen to the rescue!

_**Disclaimer: **_**I donot, will not, did not, own Naruto! (sadly.. T.T)**

**Again I would like to Thank my Amazingly-awesome Beta: TERRAAAAA~!xx Thanx soooooooo much!**

**And I'd like to say I'm happy with the reviews but,, *sigh* 298 people read my story yet only 12? 13? reviwed! srsly peopl! it's that little blue button thingy at the bottom of the page! Now it's a box! REVIEW!**

**I'd like to thank The Awesome reviewers who DID Review, and This is for the Anonymous reviewers~!**

**Lolicon: **_Thank you soooooooooo mch for the review! an I'm sorry to say untilI actually get a proper poll stat, I can't kick Katara out just yet! Thanx for your oipinion! it was very much appreciated!xx :D_

**Lily:** _Well! Thanx for your review and here's a new long chapter for you! Thanx :D_

**Hat:** _Well...your review was straight to the point! Nice! Thanx for the review and I will take your warning to heart! Hopefully you'll like this chapter!_

**Foxxy3000Kitty:** _Long name, cute~ Anyway, Thanx soooooooooooo much for the review! I'm really glad you think it's awesome and you like it! Here's an (I hope) even more amazing chapter for you!_

**Whew~!x Done! Dedicated to you amazing people and Thank you soooooooo much _CherryGirl164 _for your cotinuous Reviews! **

**~Meet you at the Bottom~**

* * *

**_RE-CAP:_**

_Kakashi kicked at Sasuke's temple. **"Shhh, this is the best part!"** he whispered excitedly, not at all conscious of the fact that he knocked out his student._

* * *

Sakura kicked a flat stone away from her feet, the rock flipping over to reveal several bugs she assumed were a family. Despite the creepy Shino-ness of the notion, she smiled. But all of her broken attention turned onto Naruto, accompanying her walk back. And for once, she finally had a good look at him. He was so different - so _changed_.

He grew to be very tall, surpassing herself by a long-shot. His sunshine-yellow hair was now a shade darker, instead a golden-sunlight color and his bright, sky blue eyes were now a shimmering azure. His face had become more defined, his features becoming pronounced as the blonde's baby fat began to disappear in large amounts - his cheekbones high and jaw squared. Naruto's skin was now a little tanner from being outside often. And underneath his new fashion sense was a muscular build that surprised her like no other. All in all, he was quite handsome now, even if he hadn't matured mentally.

It didn't take long for Naruto to bring her out of her musings, though. He had looked at her curiously at first, then the curiosity morphed into mischief.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" he prodded a little teasingly. "Like what you see?" He grinned brightly, a suggestive wiggle coming from his eyebrows.

Sakura blinked at him, caught off-guard slightly. With the intent of a come-back, she sighed, a disappointed tone to it, and shook her head. "Nah, I've seen better..." She couldn't help the laughter that immediately erupted out of her at Naruto's comically crestfallen face.

"Sakura-chan! It's not funny!" he whined cutely.

"It is to me!" she sang with another short laugh, grinning largely.

"Hmpf!" He crossed his arms childishly with a huff and a cute pout marring his features.

Sakura's laughter died down as they came closer to Ichiraku's, the bright orange flags like giant cross lights. All that was left of their joking were the hints of smiles left on their faces. Naruto tugged her along gently and had her sit in her usual seat; any spot to Naruto's left.

Ayame passed them with a wink, carrying orders out to people outside of the stand - most likely people who ate to go. She whispered a breathless, "Be right with you."

To pass the time, Naruto began tapping his foot, whistling to himself. Sakura matted down wrinkles in her skirt, busying herself with small things, before crossing her fingers and leaning forward.

It officially got awkward. "So..." Sakura began.

"...Yeah..." Naruto continued.

But before any more embarrassing words could be said, Ayame had finally gone to them, her hair a mess and her breathing coming out as pants. She was smiling nonetheless. "What can I get you two?" she asked expertly, taking out her small notebook, pencil at the ready.

"Oh...I'll have a medium miso ramen," Sakura said calmly.

"I'll have two large beef ramen!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin. "I'll be gettin' more." He winked jokingly.

Ayame laughed, scribbling things down. "As always, we're expecting that." She closed the notebook and stuffed it into the front of her apron. "I'll be back in a bit with your orders."

"We appreciate it!"

She laughed again and walked into the kitchen. As any trace of Ayame had disappeared, Naruto slowly to Sakura, a question that'd been hurting his brain since the beginning of the excercise sitting on his tongue. She paused in her idly thoughts and tilted her head slightly to listen to anything he had wanted to say.

"Do you..." he started, unsure. She urged him with a slight nod. "Do you...know anything... about... Katara's mission, Sakura-chan...?"

Her soft green eyes had dimmed slightly. "I'm sorry, Naruto," she answered, regretting the fact that she had to lie to him. But she kept from showing the obvious, even adding a slight pout for affect, "but even the Hokage's apprentice isn't told everything."

His face had fallen once more. He looked so helpless, Sakura felt guilty for having to lie to him. Blue wasn't a color that suited such a happy person.

"Oh..." He looked so downcast, Sakura was tempted to tell the truth. But she pursed her lips to keep herself from ratting Katara out.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure she's okay," she said, a little lighter in contrast to earlier. It seemed to help Naruto for now, especially when the ramen arrived.

* * *

**~Unknown Location~**

Leaves rustled softly, almost by the wind, as a lone figure continued rushing across the greenery. The swift, lithe figure let her breaths come and go in low pants whilst she hopped branch to branch, doing her best to keep from drawing unnecessary attention from anything.

_'Dammit!' _she cursed mentally, sweating and slowing down just a few paces from exerting so much energy. Running from village to village taxed on her chakra reserves.

"Almost there," she whispered to herself urgently, almost reassuringly. But despite it, going so fast was draining her. But she was so close...!

_'Almost there, just hold on a little longer,' _ thought the female, sleep urging her to stop. Black spots began to plague her vision whilst her chakra continued dropping in large amounts. Why'd the starting point have to be so damn far? Her body began to feel heavy with energy loss. Her vision started to fog and fade away and she could feel herself losing consciousness. Soon she felt the world around her start to sway and swirl out of control. The last thing she thought before she blacked out was: _'Mission started.'_

* * *

**~Konoha Training grounds(with Shika, Sasuke & Kakashi)~**

"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned, feeling the taut muscles in his body refuse to cooperate. He failed to register any memory of any reason why he had come down to this state, nor how.

_'What happened?'_ he asked himself, eyes cracking open slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on familiar grass. And by the way the grass had matted and bent down after moving his stiff arm away, he had been laying wherever he was for quite a while.

He slowly sat up, testing his range. Eyes widened and tears pricked as a painful sensation bloomed in his abdomen, and he forced his aching body back down.

"Ugh!" he groaned as he let himself fall back, not at all caring whether he injured himself further. He was blind to everything but the pain in his stomach. His eyes shut close, intent on vanquishing the pain.

"So I see you're awake," inquired a voice he knew quite well.

His eyes immediately shot open at the sound again, and he sat up, instincts already on high alert. He looked around, looking for a threat, but relaxed slightly when he found the source of the slightly amused, but bored, voice to be his former sensei. Kakashi was sitting on a branch above the tree next to him, directly above a still unconscious Shikamaru. _'What's he doing here?'_

Sasuke finally felt the full force of the training exercise return to him. His face went from wide-eyed, to confused, back to wide-eyed, irritated, then confused again.

Kakashi's lone eye crinkled in amusement, watching how his usually expressionless student's face was changing emotions erratically without him knowing.

"I'm guessing you figured out what happened." His question came out more as a matter-of-fact statement, humor laced into it.

Sasuke settled for glaring at Kakashi vehemently.

"How..?" he ground out, his voice mixed with confusion and anger. His Sharingan blazed like fire, spinning into oblivion as the humiliation reached him.

"How did your two teammates, one of whom you underestimated immensely, beat you and the Konoha genius?" he asked rhetorically with one of his eyebrows raised and his forefinger pointing at the now slowly waking up Shikamaru. Kakashi answered his own question. "It's because they didn't make the mistake you did. They didn't underestimate or overestimate you. They _evaluated_ you and your moves. And besides that, even if you and Shikamaru were coordinated, the other two actually put it into action."

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, turning his head away as realization - grudgingly - dawned onto him, shame touching him. Shikamaru sighed and leaned back on his palms.

Kakashi jumped off the branch and slowly left the training ground, but not before leaving Sasuke with something to think about.

"You're not the only one who had their precious ones murdered, Sasuke," he told him in a voice that brinked sadness and regret. "Anyways, ja ne!" With a wave of his hand, he walked away.

Sasuke looked to where his former sensei had gone off and thought, '_What does he mean by that?' _

"Where are they now?" Shikamaru asked aloud.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, slowly rising to get back onto his feet.

"Well, you're still overly constipated, aren't you, Uchiha?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to turn around and hit his 'partner' and continued walking, eyebrow twitching.

"...Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?"

Sasuke flipped his off and disappeared.

Shikamaru was left alone. He hunched over where he was seated and sighed loudly, staring at a cloud. "Dammit, he left me."

* * *

**A/N: Alright~!x Another chapter up! Well just to tell you guys there's a Poll on my profile, for whether I should kepp Katara or not, check it out!**

**Random Poll: (got bored) **

**Favourite Naruto Team 7 Character?**

**A) _Sakura_**

**_B) Sasuke_**

**_C) Naruto_**

**_D) Yamato_**

**_E) Kakashi_**

**_F) Sai_**

**_Revew please!_**

_FLAMES ALLOWED!_


	6. Chapter 6: Note! ReDesigning

_**Alright listen up! To Anyone who actually read this, I'm gonna be Re-Designing it. So therefore It will be a new story somewhat. It will probably change the slightest, I'm gonna keep this story tho as a reminder! The new story will most likely be called 'Tainted Cherry Blossom' I'm not interested in titles that much... So U can go and Read-Review that story when it is posted and If u like it or hate it!xx :D**_

_**As for the lenght that was one of my concerns, so the lenght will probably reamain the same for all Chapters, unless there is a fight scene!x**_

_** C yas!x R & R!x Lolx**_

_**Katara Out!xx**_


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